The Wall Street Journal - 12.03.2020

A2| Thursday, March 12, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

U.S. WATCH

WISCONSIN

Man Gets 54 Years

In Hit-and-Run Deaths

A Wisconsin man was sen-

tenced to 54 years in prison

Wednesday for the hit-and-run

deaths of three Girl Scouts and a

mother as they picked up trash

along a rural road in 2018.

Colten Treu, 23 years old, ear-

lier pleaded no contest to four

counts of homicide by intoxicated

use of a vehicle and hit-and-run

involving great bodily harm in the

November 2018 crash.

Prosecutors had requested a

90-year sentence, while the de-

fense requested 22 years behind

bars.

Authorities said Mr. Treu was

huffing from an aerosol canister

before he crashed his pickup

truck into the Girl Scouts as they

picked up trash along a highway

in western Wisconsin. He then

drove away.

The four people killed in the

crash were Jayna Kelley, 9 and

Autumn Helgeson, 10, both of

Lake Hallie, Wis.; and Haylee

Hickle, 10, and her mother, Sara

Jo Schneider, 32, both of Lafa-

yette, Wis.

In addition, a 10-year-old girl

was injured in the crash and was

hospitalized for three weeks.

The girls were fourth-graders

and members of Troop 3055 in

nearby Chippewa Falls, about 90

miles east of Minneapolis.

—Associated Press

SOUTH DAKOTA

Oglala Sioux Tribe

Votes to Legalize Pot

Members of the Oglala Sioux

Tribe passed a referendum to le-

galize medical and recreational

marijuana on the Pine Ridge Res-

ervation in South Dakota, accord-

ing to preliminary results from

the tribe’s election commission.

A proposal to allow alcohol in

the tribe’s casino failed.

The results of Tuesday’s vote

will be certified by the end of

the month. In the tally from all

precincts announced on Wednes-

day morning, both medical and

recreational marijuana passed by

wide margins, with 82% of vot-

ers approving medical marijuana

and 74% approving recreational

pot. The alcohol proposal failed

by 12 percentage points.

The Oglala Sioux will become

the only Native American tribe to

set up a cannabis market in a

state where it is otherwise illegal.

Tribal leaders said they want

to cooperate with authorities in

setting up a marijuana market

and have discussed their plans

with the U.S. attorney’s office

for the state. Federal and state

law enforcement hasn’t com-

mented on the issue.

South Dakota voters will also

decide on medical and recre-

ational marijuana legalization in

a referendum on ballots in No-

vember.

—Associated Press

TENNESSEE

Two Bodies Found

After Fishing Event

Searchers recovered two bod-

ies believed to be boaters who

went missing after participating

in a fishing tournament last

month, Tennessee’s wildlife

agency said.

One body was found Tuesday

near Shiloh National Military

Park on the Tennessee River

near Savannah, the Tennessee

Wildlife Resource Agency said.

The second body was recovered

nearby on Wednesday, the

agency said. A third boater re-

mains missing.

Both of the recovered bodies

have been sent to a medical ex-

aminer for autopsies and identi-

fication.

Crews have searched since

two 15-year-old boys and a 43-

year-old man who were partici-

pating in a bass fishing tourna-

ment at Pickwick Lake were

reported missing Feb. 23.

Their damaged 20-foot bass

boat was found the next day on

the Tennessee River below Pick-

wick Dam.

Lakes, rivers and streams

throughout West Tennessee had

seen very high water levels and

strong currents due to heavy

rains in February.

—Associated Press

trillion. The rise in spending

was largely driven by outlays

in health care and Social Secu-

rity spending as well as more

spending on the military and

veterans’ affairs.

Deficits typically narrow

when the economy is strong,

as rising household income

and corporate profits bolster

government revenue, and

spending on safety-net pro-

grams such as unemployment

insurance declines. Instead,

deficits have been rising in re-

cent years amid a surge in

government spending and

weaker-than-expected receipts

following the tax cuts enacted

in 2017.

The government expects

the deficit to hit $1.08 trillion

this fiscal year, up from

$984 billion during the 2019

fiscal year.

WASHINGTON—The U.S.

budget deficit totaled $625 bil-

lion in the first five months of

this fiscal year, a 15% increase

over the same period in 2019,

the U.S. Treasury reported

Wednesday.

The deficit grew by

$235 billion in February,

roughly on par with February

2019. The U.S. fiscal year be-
      gins in October.
      Government revenue rose
      to $188 billion in February, a
      12% increase over the same
      month in 2019. For the whole
      five-month period, revenue
      rose 7% to $1.37 trillion,
      thanks to a strong economy
      that fattened payrolls and de-
      livered wage gains.
      Spending is also up this fis-
      cal year, climbing 9% to $1.

BYDAVIDHARRISON

Budget Deficit Grew

15% for First 5 Months

how communists were once

treated.

“Now, there are thousands

of men who have been accused

of things that none of us un-

derstood,” he said.

Turning to the front row,

where six women who testified

against him sat with Manhat-

tan District Attorney Cyrus

Vance, he said: “My empathy

has grown.”

Mr. Weinstein still faces

criminal prosecution on simi-

lar allegations in Los Angeles,

where the district attorney’s

office said Wednesday it had

begun the process of extradit-

ing him from New York and

bringing him to California for

court proceedings. He has de-

nied any nonconsensual sexual

encounters.

Mr. Weinstein’s accusers

wept and embraced each other

after Justice Burke imposed

the sentence and deemed him

a convicted sex offender.

Spectators cheered in the

courthouse hallway as the

women walked out of the

courtroom for the last time.

Mr. Weinstein, promptly

wheeled out of the room by

court officers, was “blown

away” by the harsh sentence,

consensual relationships that

continued after the alleged at-

tacks. Both Ms. Haley and Ms.

Mann gave impassioned state-

ments to the court describing

the impact of Mr. Weinstein’s

crimes.

Ms. Haley described how

her assault altered the course

of her life and said she was

confident Mr. Weinstein would

continue to offend if he wasn’t

behind bars.

“I am relieved to know he’s

not out there, feeling even

more empowered,” she said.

“He will now know he’s not

above the law.”

During the proceeding, Mr.

Weinstein turned toward Ms.

Mann when she began deliver-

ing a statement about a sexual

assault that occurred during

their yearslong relationship.

The hairstylist recounted Mr.

Weinstein’s “ox-like” strength

and explained that “fight and

flight” weren’t possible during

her attack. She described her

testimony as painful but em-

powering.

“Rape is not just one mo-

ment of penetration,” she said.

“The impact will last a life-

time.”

Lead defense attorney

Donna Rotunno had asked Jus-

tice Burke to sentence Mr.

Weinstein to the minimum of

five years, citing his profes-

sional accomplishments and

the impact his incarceration

would have on his youngest

children, aged six and nine.

Given his age and deteriorat-

ing health, it is possible he

wouldn’t live to see the end of

a five-year sentence.

But Assistant District Attor-

ney Joan Illuzzi said Mr. Wein-

stein had been “using and

abusing people his entire life,”

reading from a lengthy list of

quotes describing him: “a

devil,” “a frightening power

addict,” “a screaming bully,”

“extremely temperamental,” “a

rapist.”

“This is the life this man

has led,” she said.

back to back. The maximum

sentence for each count was

25 years and four years, re-

spectively.

The judge said the sentence

reflected evidence that Mr.

Weinstein had sexually as-

saulted other women beyond

the allegations for which he

was convicted.

“Although this is a first

conviction, it is not a first of-

fense,” Justice Burke said.

The Hollywood producer,

who arrived by wheelchair, ad-

dressed the allegations for the

first time in court, expressing

“great remorse for all the

women who are going through

this crisis,” but not apologiz-

ing or admitting he committed

a crime.

He said the #MeToo move-

ment had stripped men of due

process and compared it to

Continued from Page One

Weinstein

Sentenced

To 23 Years

according to defense attorney

Arthur Aidala.

He said 23 years is three

times the average sentence for

the crime the producer was

convicted of. His attorneys

plan to appeal his conviction.

He was taken to Manhat-

tan’s Rikers Island jail facility

Wednesday and is expected to

be transferred to Fishkill Cor-

rectional Facility, a prison

about 65 miles north of New

York City, his lawyers said.

The sentence followed a

seven-week trial.

Prosecutors called 28 wit-

nesses to the stand, including

six women who offered grip-

ping testimony alleging sexual

misconduct by Mr. Weinstein.

The defense team tried to un-

dermine the women during

lengthy cross examinations,

pointing to their yearslong

‘Although this is a

first conviction, it is

not a first offense,’

Justice Burke said.

Sunset Harbour wasmis-

spelled as Sunset Harbor in

some editions Wednesday in a

photo caption with a U.S. News

article about efforts to prevent

flooding in Miami Beach.

In some editionsWednes-

day, a Land Rover 110 was

misidentified as a 101 in a

photo caption with the My

Ride column in the Life & Arts

section.

CORRECTIONS

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new house, according to Robert

Dietz, the NAHB’s chief econo-

mist.

At the same time, strong de-

mand is driving up rents, leav-

ing occupants less money to

spend on other goods or to set

aside as a down payment on a

home. Between 2000 and 2016,

the drop in homeownership

among younger adults due to

high housing costs translated

to around 700,000 fewer home

added to the housing stock was

around 34% in 2009, compared

with 24% in 1990, based on

data from the Census Bureau

and HUD.

Multifamily construction

doesn’t pack the same eco-

nomic punch as building single-

family homes. Each new multi-

family unit creates the

equivalent of a single full-time

job, on average—compared

with three full-time jobs for a

U.S. NEWS

compared with 1.07 million be-

tween 1960 and 2003, the last

year before the housing bubble,

according to data from the Cen-

sus Bureau and the U.S. Depart-

ment of Housing and Urban De-

velopment. Single-family starts

totaled around 888,000 houses

last year.

“We haven’t done nearly as

much building relative to the

whole economy as we have his-

torically, let alone in expan-

sions,” said David Berson, chief

economist at Nationwide.

Residential investment—

which includes single and mul-

tifamily construction, remodel-

ing and brokers’ fees—now

accounts for 3.1% of gross do-

mestic product, according to

the U.S. Bureau of Economic

Analysis. That’s up from a re-

cent low of 2.4% in 2011 but far

below the 5.4% long-term aver-

age, based on BEA data.

With construction down,

housing is contributing less to

growth. Residential investment

contributed 0.27 percentage

point to the rate of quarterly

growth, on average, during ex-

pansions between 1950 and

2003, according to BEA data.

Since 2010, the first full year of

growth after the crisis, the con-

tribution fell to 0.13 percentage

point. Last year, declining resi-

dential investment shaved 0.

percentage point off growth.

The economic benefits of

housing go beyond construc-

tion. In 2015, the buyer of a

newly built home spent an av-

erage of $4,500 more on appli-

ances, furnishings and renova-

tions than a similar consumer

who hadn’t just moved, accord-

ing to a National Association of

Home Builders analysis. The

buyers of existing houses spent

slightly less.

“Whether it’s a new or exist-

ing home, you’re going to pay

to fill it up,” said Mr. Berson.

“New carpeting, window treat-

ments, furniture and furnish-

ings—these are an important

part of the total expenditure on

a house.”

Another postcrisis housing

trend has also held back

growth: More Americans are

renting homes and apartments

rather than buying. “The U.S.

has become more of a renter

nation,” said Jenny Schuetz, a

housing economist at the

Brookings Institution.

As buyers vanished after the

housing crash, developers built

more apartment buildings and

fewer single-family homes. The

share of new multifamily units

purchases by those in that age

group, according to an analysis

by Sam Khater, chief economist

at mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

Higher prices are largely a

result of supply constraints.

One of them is a shortage of

skilled construction workers.

Another is restrictive building

and zoning codes in major cit-

ies such as New York and Los

Angeles, which have increas-

ingly become centers of job

growth and prosperity.

“All of this has made home

construction more expensive,

and therefore less profitable,”

said Daryl Fairweather, chief

economist atRedfin, an online

real-estate brokerage. “That’s

partly why it’s contributing less

to GDP.”

To be sure, the economy still

stands to benefit from ultralow

rates as homeowners refinance,

which reduces their monthly

payments, freeing up income to

spend. And online mortgage

lender Better.com, which aver-

ages around $700 million in

loans a month, says application

volume in the first 10 days of

March nearly surpassed the to-

tal for all of February. Though

refinancing has spurred much

of that, new applications have

surged too, the company says.

With the average rate on a

30-year mortgage falling to

3.29% last week, financing a

home purchase has never been

cheaper. That could give the

flagging economy a much-

needed boost amid coronavirus

fears.

Yet housing is juicing the

economy less than it used to,

some economists say. Housing

never fully recovered from the

2008 financial crisis, and low

rates won’t cure its ills. Higher

land costs, restrictive zoning,

scarce labor and tighter lending

standards still limit construction.

In the past, lower rates have

helped rev up the housing mar-

ket, powering the rest of the

economy in the process. More

homes were built and sold. New

homeowners splurged on sofas

and washing machines. Existing

homeowners refinanced their

loans, saving them money to

spend on new cars or appli-

ances instead.

The problems began when

construction cratered after the

housing-market crash that trig-

gered the 2008 financial crisis.

Since 2010, only 681,000 new

single-family homes were

started annually, on average,

BYGWYNNGUILFORD

Low Rates Won’t Fix Housing Market’s Strains

Jessica Mann, center, leaving the courthouse after movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Wednesday.

ROY ROCHLIN/GETTY IMAGES

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (investment share); U.S. Census (multifamily units)

Note: "Sale" includes condos/cooperative units for sale and those acquired as a single property.

0

3

6

9% RECESSION

1950 ’60 ’70 ’80 ’902000 ’

0

100

200

300 thousand

2000 ’05 ’10 ’

Built for rent

Built for sale

Average

since 1947

Residential investment share

of U.S. GDP

Number of multifamily units

completed in buildings with

10 or more units